James Wood and Luis García Jr. each smacked a home run, and two strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double plays pushed the Nationals to their sixth series win in May in a 4-2 dispatch of the Padres. Wood’s 16th homer of the year was a two-run blast in the fifth off Padres starter Griffin Canning, the ball soaring a Statcast-projected 417 feet. Pinch-hitter Andrés Chaparro added on in the seventh, dropping in a run-scoring double to provide valuable insurance to right-hander Zack Littell’s memorable May turnaround. "It just seems like he's on time for everything,” manager Blake Butera said of Wood’s at-bats. “He's getting pitched so hard, too, that it's so impressive. Sometimes I just sit back and enjoy watching him take his at-bats against some of the better arms. Seems like every team is trying to match up for him specifically. He’s seeing the ball out of the hand pretty well, and he's laying off some tough pitches, too." Wood has reached base safely in seven of his 12 career plate appearances against Canning, going 4-for-9 with a double, two HRs and three walks. "I feel like I have been a little bit better in swing decisions,” Wood said. “My timing has been a little bit better ... and a little bit of luck, too. I think just going up with a good plan, and just being on time and just trusting your plan." Washington has not lost a series since May 8-10 in Miami, and it went 16-12 in May -- the most wins in a single month for the franchise since August of 2023 (17-11), after going 12-15 in April. "I'm not sure that the actual vibes changed all that much,” Littell said of the May surge. “The group is just more confident. You got a team full of young guys, being in games, taking series from teams that are really good, the Braves, the Padres. It’s only going to continue to build confidence in these guys and then go out and compete with anybody." The Nationals (31-29) have won 20 of their past 33 games dating back to April 25. García, who was 0-for-10 against Canning in his career, crushed a Statcast-projected 402-foot fly ball over the center field wall to open the scoring in the fourth. The first baseman has two homers and eight RBIs over his last six games, hitting .381 (8-for-21). Littell recorded six shutout frames but struggled to begin the seventh, walking Xander Bogaerts before Jackson Merrill laid down a perfect bunt and Ty France doubled in a run.
